Lin's Scott Pilgrim Oneshot Collection
by Linables
Summary: Rings pt 2 up! I couldn't quite resist writing this, after Scott said his and Wallace's meeting at university was "pretty gay". This  and any future oneshots is/will be Scott x Ramona at heart, but like I said, the first one has something else as well.
1. You Never Told Me

**You Never Told Me...**

A Scott Pilgrim oneshot

By Linda/Linables/Imprefectlin

* * *

Alright! I finally caved in and wrote this thing, since the idea had been gnawing at my head for a while. ^n^; I'm actually new to this fandom (I just did a marathon reading of all six books right after the sixth one came out), so please forgive any mistakes I may have made. (I think it's pretty solid, though. I hope.)

I've got a couple of other ideas that I might write in the near future, which involve Scott and Ramona. (Possibly an "M" rating...) This one just wouldn't stay unwritten, since the idea came into my head after Scott told someone who I can't remember (^_^;) that him meeting Wallace at university was "pretty gay." :D

Oh and by the way, this takes place not too long after the sixth book. A few months maybe. Enjoy!

* * *

It was the kind of Friday night that had become fairly typical. Stuffed into a booth in the back corner of Lee's Palace was a lively party of six which consisted of Scott, Ramona, Wallace, Kim, Stephen Stills, and his boyfriend Joseph. When the work week ended – even though several of them had to work on weekends as well, technically speaking – the group got together and let loose. Wallace was usually the first to get drunk, and from there it spread to Stephen Stills, Joseph, and quite often Kim. Tonight was no exception, and at this moment Scott found himself precariously squashed in between Ramona and Wallace, who had decided to lie down on the outside half of their bench, with his legs dangling over the edge and outside the booth and his head planted on Scott's lap. Now, being pushed up against Ramona he didn't mind in the least, but the drunk Wallace lying partially on top of him was making Scott more than just a bit uncomfortable.

The situation on the other side of the booth wasn't much more orderly, but at least they had room. Joseph had decided to crawl up onto Stephen Stills' lap, leaving well over half of the bench free for Kim to lounge on. If Kim hadn't been sitting with her legs spread apart and her arms draped over the back rest, Scott might have considered moving. Or better yet, passing Wallace over to the other side of the table. But for now, he had to settle for trying to awkwardly poke and nudge Wallace off of him.

Once he'd kept this up for some time, Wallace opened his eyes and looked up, facing an upside down version of Scott's face and smiling lopsidedly.

"Scottyyy..." he droned, giggling slightly. "You've never touched me this much."

At these words Scott quickly pulled his hands away, hugging them against his torso. He stared down at Wallace with saucer-width eyes. Next to him, Ramona tried her best not to crack up.

Wallace reached up and clumsily slapped his hands on either side of Scott's' face, squeezing his cheeks and making him yelp in surprise. At this point everyone on the other side of the booth was laughing, and Ramona eventually relented and joined in. She took pity on her poor, defenseless boyfriend though, and hoisted herself up into a standing position on the bench, giving Scott room to scoot over and get out from under Wallace. Said man's head fell onto the bench with a soft "thump". Ramona then climbed back down, almost doubling over herself with laughter as she did so.

Scott shoved Wallace just far enough for his behind to be hanging over the edge of the bench, and the sudden imbalance caused the man to scramble into a haphazard seated position before he fell. He then joined in on the laughter because, A) It was all pretty damn funny, and B) He was drunk enough to laugh even if it hadn't been. Scott laughed too, even though he was one of the only two people at the table who weren't drunk. (And it helped that Ramona was now the only person violating his personal space.)

Scott still tried to keep up his "I don't drink" morality on a general basis, and he was pretty successful actually. Tonight he'd only had one gin and tonic, and he'd built up his tolerance enough - mostly during the months he'd spent cooped up in his apartment after Ramona's literal disappearance into subspace – that it didn't shake him up. Ramona wasn't drunk either, but it was because she (unlike some others) didn't want to risk a hangover the night before a Saturday shift. She'd kept her job with even after her subspace bag had been destroyed, although it wasn't quite as easy to deliver large packages anymore. Regardless, she was still one of the best delivery people they had.

But despite her sensibility, she still managed to ask a question then that made Scott jump in his seat. Honestly, he couldn't think of many things he would have liked to hear less at that moment. But there it was.

"Scott, you know, you never have told me how you and Wallace met!"

At the mention of his name, Wallace turned and smiled an unnaturally wide smile. Ramona giggled. Scott felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured on his head.

Nervously he said, "Heh...well..."

Most of the group was watching him, apparently as eager as Ramona to hear the tale. Scott tried to wrangle up an excuse.

"Uh, I don't think you guys really wanna hear it...it's...umm...not that interesting?"

"Well I think it was _damn_ interesting!" Wallace interjected, playfully punching Scott on the arm.

Scott flailed like a fish out of water.

"Uhh...well...it's...uh..."

"Totally gay?" Kim offered, laughing heartily.

"N-no! I-I mean, well yes, but, but..." Scott already feeble defense was crumbling, and he couldn't quite think of any other protest.

"Dude, what story involving Wallace isn't totally gay? Go on, do tell." said Ramona, giving her boyfriend a Cheshire cat-like smile.

"_I_ can tell it if Scotty boy doesn't have the balls to..." slurred Wallace from his other side.

Alarmed by that prospect, Scott quickly refused. "No way man, if the story's gonna be told, let me be the one to tell it!" That, he figured, was at least better.

"Aww, why?" asked Wallace.

"Because," said Scott. "I don't trust you to tell the truth right now. Or, you know, speak in words that we can understand."

"Aw, fine. But don't skimp on details, dude. 'Cause if you do...I won't."

Faced with that frightening idea, Scott sighed and hit play on his memory-cam.

* * *

It was their first year at university, and Scott had found his classmate (from one class) Wallace unexpectedly and relentlessly butting into his life. He sat next to him in their one shared class, he showed up to his house (Scott still wasn't quite sure how he'd gotten his address), and he charmed Scott's mother into letting him eat dinner there at least once a week. Then one night, Wallace convinced Scott to join him at a bar, and Scott got drunker than he'd ever been in his entire life. Wallace asked him if he could crash at his place – and although Scott couldn't for the life of him remember what he'd said, the next thing he knew Wallace was in his room unrolling a sleeping bag.

Scott's parents and sister Stacey were all out of the house that night, which was lucky on their part considering how much noise the boys made upon arrival. They stumbled up the stairs side by side, arms wrapped around the other's shoulders. When they got to Scott's room, Scott collapsed face-down on his bed, and Wallace crawled (with some trouble) under it to grab the sleeping bag that he knew was stored there. After scooting back out from under the bed and unrolling the sleeping bag on the floor, he flopped down onto it, though he didn't lie down.

Scott randomly giggled, drooling a bit on his comforter. Wallace turned his head to look at him, and slowly a wide, lazy smile spread across his face. He got up, tripping slightly over something that might have been either his own feet or a sneaker thrown onto Scott's floor, and made his way over to the bed. He crawled up onto it, lieing down on his stomach parallel to Scott. He reached a hand out to poke his shoulder, and when Scott didn't respond, he did it again, harder. Slowly, Scott turned to look at Wallace, and being as drunk as he was, met the man's smile with one of his own. Normally he would have been a little bit freaked out that some guy he'd only known for about six weeks had just crawled up next to him on his bed, but right now it seemed weirdly okay.

Wallace scooted a few centimeters closer, then raised one eyebrow slightly and asked, "Wanna kiss me?"

* * *

"And then I said no and fell asleep. The end." Scott punctuated his feeble attempt at closing the story with a crossing of his arms.

A chorus of "Boooo!"s was heard all around the table. Scott pouted.

"Noooo way!" Wallace shouted, clapping a hand onto Scott's shoulder. "Uh-uh, we totally (hic) made out like high schoolers in a janitor's closet!"

An uproar of laughter arose from the table. Scott looked at Ramona with his biggest pleading eyes, but she giggled herself and rubbed his thigh, giving him an encouraging look.

So to save himself from having to hear Wallace's version of the rest of the story, Scott sighed and continued.

* * *

Scott giggled again, and said, "Hmmm...sure."

And so, with no real coherent thought running through either young man's head, they scooted the rest of the way towards each other and locked lips.

Wallace, who was easily the more forward one, immediately raised a hand up and tangled it into Scott's long, shaggy light brown hair. He pulled Scott as close as possible, darting his tongue out aggressively against the other man's lips in an attempt to deepen the kiss. Scott offered up no protest in his current condition, parting his lips and letting Wallace dip his tongue into his mouth and brush against Scott's own. He was content to lie back and let his friend take control of the situation, both because he wasn't sure what to do and because his limbs seemed to have lost all sense of weight and reality. All Scott could consciously do was reach out blindly with his hands and grasp onto whatever he could find, which in this case was Wallace's midsection.

Apparently Wallace took this as an okay to advance, because in one fluid motion he hoisted himself up and over Scott, pushing the man onto his back in the process. The kiss was broken for what seemed like only a millisecond before both men dove back in. In the frantic rush of the moment, Wallace's hand darted to the hem of Scott's t-shirt and started pulling. They broke apart so the garment could be yanked off fully, Scott raised his arms, Wallace tugged the fabric up, the shirt was almost off...

Creak...slam...footsteps.

All of a sudden a single thread of clarity tore through Scott's head, and his eyes quickly became as wide as saucers.

"D-dude!" he sputtered. "Someone's...(hic)...someone's home!"

It wasn't a huge house, and whoever had just entered was bound to be coming up to their own bedroom very soon. Scratch that, NOW. Scott heard definite footsteps ascending the stairs. Quickly, he wriggled out from under Wallace and lunged toward his door, grabbing the knob and turning the lock with a frantic "click". He stood there, dizzy and panting, not turning around to go back to where Wallace was currently eyeing him curiously.

"Scott?" he heard from behind him.

Apparently the momentary rush of clarity had also managed to remind Scott of another fairly important thing. He slowly turned around to face Wallace.

"Uh...I just, um...(hic)...remembered somethin'..."

"What?"

"...I'm...not gay."

Wallace looked at Scott intensely for a moment, then blinked a few times.

"You (hic) sure?"

"Yeah. Pretty sure."

Scott offered a nervous laugh, which broke into a hiccup. Slowly, Wallace rose up into a sitting position and hoisted himself off of Scott's bed.

"Right...well...yeah...um...g'nite then."

With a bit of awkwardness that was mostly disguised by the effects of the alcohol, Wallace stumbled over to where he'd set up his sleeping bag earlier. He gave a little wave to Scott as he lied down, and Scott waved back.

"G'nite..." he said, flicking the light switch that was on the wall nearby. The room plunged into a comfortable darkness. Scott made his way over to his bed, almost tripping a couple of times but managing to find his destination. He lied down, and sloppily arranged the covers on top of himself. He was just about to nod off when he heard Wallace ask from somewhere on the floor:

"You sure you're not?"

"Uh...yeah."

"You wanna (hic) live with me some day anyway?"

Scott was about to answer, but all of a sudden he heard a loud snore come from the exact same spot where the voice had come from. Blinking once, Scott flipped his pillow and fell asleep within moments of his head hitting it.

* * *

"So yeah, there you go. That's how it happened. Satisfied?" Scott grumbled, an embarrassed flush staining his cheeks and nose.

"Whooo!" Wallace shouted beside him, thrusting his fist into the air. Kim hollered out a cat call, and Stephen Stills clapped. Scott sunk a little deeper into his seat, face growing ever redder. The only upside to the moment was that Scott now felt Ramona wrapping an arm around his torso and leaning in to whisper in his ear, "That was _hot_."

After one more round of drinks hit the table, Ramona paid Scott one more service – she gracefully bowed out of the party, (truthfully) saying that she had to get up early the next morning for work. Scott had to work too, so although he didn't have to get up as early as Ramona, he immediately joined her. As soon as they stepped out of Lee's Palace and started walking towards their apartment, Scott let out a huge sigh of relief. Ramona laughed and grabbed his hand, lacing her fingers together with his.

"That crowd's a little too much when you're not drunk yourself." Scott mused.

"Well next time, maybe you could have a couple." Ramona replied, grinning.

"No way, you – and everyone else – now knows what can happen when I get drunk!"

"Hey, hey, if you start making out with Wallace I'll definitely intervene."

"You'd better..."

Ramona laughed again, squeezing Scott's hand. Sometimes her boyfriend could be such a kid. But a cute one, at least.

A short time passed, and something started nagging at Scott's brain. He frowned.

"Ramona?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you okay with hearing about my frolicking with Wallace at university?

Ramona sighed softly.

"Scott, it's in the past. And I know you never would have done that if you'd been sober. Right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, it's okay then. Also, I wasn't kidding. It's kinda hot."

Scott's brain processed this for a few moments.

"You mean like how guys are into lesbians?"

"Right."

"Ah."

They walked in comfortable silence then for a while, until Scott turned to Ramona and smiled. She soon noticed him looking at her, and turned to face him.

"What?"

"I love you, Ramona."

Scott squeezed Ramona's palm and rubbed her thumb with his. She smiled and blushed slightly.

"I love you too, Scott."

From there, the peaceful silence lasted the rest of the way to their apartment – and for the first time in several hours, Scott was relaxed.


	2. Rings Part 1

**Rings**

A Scott Pilgrim Two-Shot By

Linda/Linables/Imprefectlin

* * *

Okay, I lied, these aren't all going to be one-shots. XD This one is going to be a two-shot. I could have even split it up into more chapters, but I feel like a two-shot is the best option. So I'll definitely be writing another part, but tell me: do you all want to see me increase the rating of this collection to M? I said I might, and you can tell by looking at my profile that I'm no stranger to M ratings. C; Would you all like that? It would be Scott x Ramona. Sound good?

A couple of notes: I'm gonna reference a couple of things from the movie in here, like the scene with Scott and Stacey on the swings where she asks him about the future. Otherwise, everything I write will be in the continuum of the comic series' events. But I might sprinkle in some choice bits from the movie, since it was awesome. C:

* * *

The door of The Second Cup creaked as Ramona Flowers entered the coffee shop, hands in her pockets and eyes seemingly staring into space. She walked up to the counter, her footsteps alerting Stacey Pilgrim of her presence. Said young woman looked up from refilling the store's supply of decaf hazelnut coffee and smiled, coming up to the counter to take Ramona's order. The delivery girl had been stopping in every now and then, more frequently now than before, likely to get a pick-me-up to keep her going. After all, carrying packages without the help of the infinite capacity subspace bag was pretty tiring.

"Hey Ramona," Stacey said once they were both by the counter. "You want something?"

"Hi Stacey...yeah, I think I could go for a low fat gingersnap latte. And could you throw an extra shot of espresso in there?"

"Wow, you having a particularly hard day today?" Stacey asked as she went to make Ramona's order.

"Well, it's not so much that, I actually just couldn't get a lot of sleep last night. I'm super tired."

Stacey pressed a couple of buttons on the espresso machine, then turned her head to look at Ramona.

"What's wrong? Becoming an insomniac?"

Ramona laughed slightly. "Nah, I don't think so. At least I hope not. But last night sucked because I was feeling kinda off and I couldn't put my finger on the reason why."

Stacey frowned while lidding the cup of coffee.

"Oh, is my brother being an idiot? 'Cause I would totally believe you if you said he was."

"No, it's not that, actually things are going great with Scott. Awesome, actually. But I just feel...I dunno, kinda incomplete in a weird way. It kinda scares me."

Stacey scanned her employee discount card at the register, taking the bill Ramona handed her and making change. The register clicked, and Ramona took a long sip of her latte.

"Huh...have you ever felt that way before?"

"No, at least not that I can remember. It's so weird. I'm really happy, and everything and everyone around me is actually good for once. But I feel like something is missing...I just don't know what that could be. Am I being selfish?"

"I don't think so. Feeling complete is more of a right than a privilege. At least I think so."

Ramona seemed to ponder this for a moment. She took another sip of her coffee, and pursed her lips in concentration. Finally she sighed and shook her head, giving a soft, good-natured laugh.

"I think so too. I just wish I knew what I wanted."

Stacey patted Ramona on the shoulder and gave a sympathetic smile.

"Hey, it'll work out. Okay?"

Ramona smiled, grateful for Stacey's understanding.

"Okay," she said. "And thanks, Stacey. I gotta get going now, but I totally appreciate that, so much."

"You're very welcome. Say hello to my bro, okay?"

"Gotcha!"

So Ramona took off on her rollerblades, waving goodbye to Stacey before exiting the store. The barista watched as she sped off down the street, then she turned to go and resume her earlier task of filling up the coffee pots. After this was accomplished, Stacey left the counter to go get a mop to clean up a spill that she'd seen out of the corner of her eye, towards the back of the store. She grabbed the mop and bucket, then walked over to where the spill was, not bothering to hurry since this wasn't a busy hour. On her way though, something else caught Stacey's eye – the front cover of a catalog that was sitting on the customer magazine rack.

Propping the mop and bucket up against a free table, Stacey went to grab the catalog. It was for a large department store that she never really went to, but that didn't matter – the front cover featured a very prominent advertisement about engagement and wedding rings at 30% off.

All of a sudden, a thought dawned upon Stacey. One could have called it even more than a thought, really, more of a revelation. Quickly, she stashed the catalog in her apron's pocket and hurried to go and mop up the spill. This required urgent attention.

Upon finishing the cleanup, Stacey hurried back behind the counter. She dug her phone out of her pocket, flipped it open, and hastily sent a text to Wallace Wells.

_ Wallace – had revelation about S+R. R u decent 4 me to come over after work? Get off 4:00. – Stacey_

Wallace had kept her duly informed of all news having to do with her brother for quite some time, and Stacey felt that it was only fair to return the favor. Plus, she was sure Wallace could help her out.

She soon got a return text giving her the okay to drop by Wallace's apartment later, so after her shift ended Stacey made a hasty exit, leaving Julie to pick up her unfinished task of grinding French roasted beans. Julie had just arrived for her shift, and she rolled her eyes dramatically as she watched her co-worker make her exit. Even though she was the more tolerable of the Pilgrim siblings in Julie's mind, Stacey could still effectively annoy her.

* * *

Stacey walked the short distance to Wallace's apartment (which he shared with his boyfriend, who was, perhaps luckily, not home at the time), the catalog that she'd picked up at The Second Cup safely in her bag. When she arrived, she wasted no time in pulling it out. Sitting down on Wallace's couch, a surprisingly lovely find from the local Goodwill, she held it in her lap and grinned.

"So what's the huge revelation, Stace?" Wallace asked, coming to join her in the "living room" area of the apartment after fetching a beer from the fridge.

"Well, Ramona came into The Second Cup today like she's been doing every now and then, and she seemed kinda down. I asked her about it, and she said that she felt like something was missing." Stacey made a gesture with her hands to emphasize her point.

"Did Scott screw something up?" Wallace said, taking a sip from his bottle.

"I asked that too, but no. She actually said that things were awesome with Scott. She also said that finally everything in her life is okay, but she still felt, in her words, incomplete." She paused, gaging Wallace for a reaction.

"Go on," he said. "My interest is peaked."

"Okay, well while I was cleaning up in the shop I saw this catalog –" She patted the magazine in her lap. "– on the customer magazine rack. And I had an epiphany."

Stacey tossed the catalog into Wallace's lap, and the man picked it up and studied the front cover. He then looked over the edge of the magazine at Stacey, seeing a small smile forming on her face. He chuckled a bit, his tone suggesting that he understood and perhaps agreed with what Stacey had decided. He put the catalog down and took another sip of beer.

"You want your brother to propose to Ramona?"

"Honestly, I think if he's ever gonna do it to anyone, it's gonna be her."

"You've got a point right there, I gotta say. Do you think it would work out for them?"

Stacey thought for a moment, remembering a conversation she'd had with Scott during his separation from Ramona.

"You know, I think it actually would. I asked Scott once if he really saw a future with her, and although he kinda stupid-ed up his answer, I could tell by the look on his face that he really did. And as crazy as it might be, Scott's actually the best guy Ramona's ever dated. By far. And the most stable, for sure."

Wallace nodded slowly. "Yeah," he said. "I once asked Scott what his next step in he and Ramona's relationship would be, you know, if they were gonna get married or what. He couldn't answer, but their relationship was still kinda crazy at the time, if you know what I mean..."

Stacey nodded, remembering her brother's many fights with Ramona's seven evil exes.

"Yeah, but I could see that he really wanted to be with her. That he would probably do anything to be with her. Hell, he did fight six evil guys and a raging ninja chick to be with her, even after she literally disappeared."

Stacey smiled in agreement. "So," she said. "Since we're both on the same page about this, do you have any idea how we could get my brother to catch on?"

"Hmm...well, maybe you could slip this in his mail slot?" Wallace picked up the catalog and waved it a bit.

"Well yeah, I guess. But that's kinda forward, don't you think? Plus he might think it was a mistake. I think someone would have to hand it to him personally, so he knew it was meant for him. But I think we need to be a little subtler than just handing it right to him."

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Wallace said, frowning. There was a short period of silence while both people thought, until finally the proverbial light bulb switched on above Wallace's head.

"I've got it!" he said, smiling. Stacey looked at him with interest. "I've got some mail that's addressed to Scott that got delivered here. I guess whoever sent it still hasn't figured out that me and Scott aren't living at the old apartment anymore, and when I moved out I had everything that got sent there forwarded here. It's nothing important, so I was gonna throw it away, but we could stash that catalog in the pile and give it to Scott. He'd find it when he was looking through the mail."

"Hey, that's not a bad idea!" Stacey said. "Do you think you could that for me? Please?" For show, she put on a puppy dog face, with wide eyes and overly pouty lips.

"Hey, you know that face doesn't work on me when girls do it." Wallace said, laughing. "But it's okay. I'll do it anyway."

Stacey playfully rolled her eyes, not really trying to conceal that she was quite grateful.

"Awesome. Thanks, Wallace. If this works out, I'll petition to have Scott make you his best man."

"How about a bridesmaid?" Wallace asked, laughing and taking a swig of beer. "I look great in taffeta!"

"Yeah, I don't think so." Stacey said, chuckling. "But thank you really, Wallace. You're fabulous."

"Well, I try." Wallace said, waving at Stacey with the hand holding the beer bottle as she got up to leave.

Stacey smiled and shook her head in amusement, waving back at Wallace as the exited his apartment. The plan was a go. Stacey just hoped her brother would be smart enough to pick up on their rather large hint.

* * *

Wallace knocked on the door of Scott and Ramona's apartment, holding a stack of papers which mostly consisted of advertisements and pre-approved credit card offers. Stuffed into the middle, though, was the department store catalog that he had gotten from Stacey.

The door opened several seconds later, revealing a very tired-looking Scott Pilgrim.

"Hey there, Scott, did I wake you?" Wallace asked, an amused smirk on his face.

Scott blinked quickly and glanced over at the clock on the coffee maker inside the apartment. It read _12:41 PM_.

"Uh...no, no you didn't. I was definitely up, like an hour ago."

"Right," Wallace said, knowing Scott was making that up but not caring. It was cute how flustered he got. "Well anyway, I've got some mail that was addressed to you at the old apartment. I have everything that goes there forwarded to my current place, so I got these. I thought I should come by and give them to you."

He handed Scott the pile, and Scott studied it for a bit. He skimmed it slightly, but, likely because he had just woken up, he didn't pay much attention to the contents.

"It doesn't look like anything totally important is in here." he mused, looking up at Wallace.

"Um..." said Wallace, pondering what to say. "Well, look through it anyway, you never know. Maybe you can find something...you know, to buy." He figured that was enough of a hint.

"Well okay," Scott said, placing the pile on the kitchen table inside the apartment. "Thanks for bringing it over, then."

"No problem. Hey, are you working tonight? I was thinking maybe I'd drop by if you are." Wallace thought it might be necessary to check up on Scott's progress on the subject, plus he kind of felt like eating out on the cheap that night.

"Uh...yeah, I am. My shift starts at 3:00."

"Okay, well I'll drop by then. See you later Scotty!" Wallace waved and turned to walk away, but looked over his shoulder before getting far and added, "Read your mail!"

Scott waved at his friend as he left, and remained standing in the doorway for a few moments, wondering what to do next. He was really keen on sleeping for a little while longer, but then again, maybe there were some really good sale flyers in the pile of mail that Wallace had given him. Ramona had been complaining lately that the price of seven of her favorite teas had gone up.

So, settling for a cup of coffee (which he started in the coffee maker then) instead of more sleep, Scott sat down at the kitchen table and began to browse through the mail. Most of it was pretty boring, but he did find a couple of great flyers and catalogs that he set aside. As he was combing through the pile, he happened to notice something odd – a catalog from Sears. Now, Scott didn't keep tabs on every single place he'd put his address over time, but he was pretty sure he'd never requested to receive Sears catalogs. He was about to dismiss it as a mistake and flip to the next piece of mail, but out of the corner of his eye Scott saw the address sticker that was pasted onto the bottom corner of the catalog's cover. The catalog was addressed to The Second Cup – and upon further investigation, Scott confirmed that it was the one that his sister worked at.

Scott was super confused by now. He had no idea how that could have gotten into his mail. At first he still thought it might have been an accident – but The Second Cup shop that the catalog was addressed to was nowhere near his and Wallace's old apartment. Well, it was _near_, but not on the same street or even in the same neighbourhood. More puzzled than ever, Scott settled for staring at the cover, as if willing it to speak and tell him why it had appeared amongst his mail. It did no such thing, but it did hold Scott's attention long enough to make him notice the items that were being advertised on its cover.

"Rings?" Scott mused idly, not really knowing whether he meant it to be a question or a statement. The rings were pretty though. But they looked expensive...even at (up to) 30% off, as was prominently displayed on the catalog.

At that moment Scott heard the coffee maker stop dripping, and he set the pile of mail, including the Sears catalog, down on the table. He got up and went to fetch his "morning" coffee...but for whatever reason, he couldn't get the thought of rings out of his head.

* * *

On the bus to work a couple of hours later, Scott rested his chin in his hand and stared idly out the window. He'd been thinking about the Sears catalog, even though he couldn't quite put his finger on why. Something about it had stuck in his head, and he felt as if there was an idea that was trying desperately to claw its way into his conscious mind. But it hadn't yet succeeded, and it just continued to nag and pester him.

Scott sighed as the bus creaked to a stop at a red light. He had just decided to empty his head of all though for the rest of the ride when his eyes fell on a shop window across the street. It was a bridal shop – and the front was mostly glass, providing ample room to display several wedding dresses and less flattering bridesmaid dresses. Scott's eyes settled on one of the wedding gowns, not because he was interested in it, but just because it somehow caught his eye. The red light that they were sitting at was a particularly long one, so Scott had a long time to stare.

All of a sudden, something strange happened. As he stared at the dress, the headless blue manikin that it was clothing began to transform. And not into just anything...right before his eyes, the plastic woman became a very lifelike Ramona. Now, Scott had seen Ramona in strange places before – namely, inside his head while he was dreaming and she was speeding along a subspace highway in a desert on rollerblades. But this time, Scott was quite sure that he was awake, and that there were no subspace doors nearby.

He stared with wide eyes at the dress on the manikin-turned-Ramona. She even moved, twirling and lifting her bouquet of roses (Where did that come from?) to her nose to smell them. Scott pressed his face up the bus window, and he could swear that the vision of Ramona was starting to walk towards him when he suddenly felt the bus lurch forward. Immediately the vision disappeared, and Scott blinked as he pulled his face away from the glass. What was that all about? The curious event filled Scott's head until the bus pulled up to his stop and he stepped off of it, and even after that.

It was only while he was chopping carrots later that a thought began to sneak its way into Scott's mind. It began as a hazy sort of buzzing in the back of his head, and slowly grew into a larger, more clear idea. The knife Scott was holding hit the cutting board violently as the thought crashed into the forefront. All of a sudden, it was as if everything was clear. Strikingly so. The rings from the mysterious Sears catalog, the vision of Ramona...it all combined into one shocking epiphany. Scott gaped, wide eyed, at nothing in particular. The inside of his head was buzzing like an angry wasp, and all kinds of feelings and ideas were crashing into him at once. Stephen Stills, who was in the kitchen with him, gave Scott a curious look as he ran to the sink and quickly splashed a liberal amount of water onto his face. Then, head cleared, Scott turned to Stephen Stills and gave him an unusually wide smile, returning to his previous task and continuing it with never before seen vigor.

* * *

Wallace came into the restaurant later that day as he had promised. Scott saw him come in, and took his break to go out and talk. He sat down at the table that his friend had chosen, and it didn't take Wallace long to notice that his ex-roommate seemed unusually happy. Suspecting that there was something other than just the coffee that Scott must have gorged on earlier at fault, Wallace grinned himself and decided to venture forward.

"So," he asked. "You seem happy, Scott. Any reason?"

Scott nodded slowly, the smile never fully leaving his face.

"Right...feel like sharing?"

"Well..." said Scott, eyes aiming down at his lap first before looking up. "I thought of something."

"And what might that be?"

"I realized that I finally know what I have to do to start the rest of my life."

"Okay...wait, can you rephrase that?"

"Yeah. I think...I think I'm gonna ask Ramona to marry me."

A cheering section erupted inside of Wallace's head, horns blaring and people shouting their congratulations on how beautifully his and Stacey's plan had blossomed. Honestly, Wallace hadn't expected Scott to get it so quickly, but hey, this was great. He didn't want to toot his own horn yet though (this was Scott's moment after all, he had to admit), so Wallace decided to play coy for now and act as if this was the first time he'd heard the idea.

"Oh wow, congrats buddy!" he said, clapping a hand onto Scott's shoulder. "I'm super happy for you. How are you planning on buying the ring?"

Scott froze up for a moment, hesitating. He hadn't quite figured that part out yet, but he was fairly sure he would.

"Uh...well, I'm not sure. Maybe I'll ask for a loan from my parents. I'm doing pretty good here at work, you know, so I could handle that. The ring probably won't be too big, though..."

Wallace felt a genuine pang of sympathy as he watched his friend's face take on a slight tinge of worry.

"Hey, Scott, don't worry about it." he said. "Trust me, Ramona doesn't seem like the kind of girl who would care about a huge diamond. You'll be fine."

Scott smiled at Wallace as he tapped him on the shoulder comfortingly, honestly thankful for the support. Yeah, he could totally do this.

* * *

Hey! So how was that? I hope I fulfilled you guys' expectations...and that this idea wasn't way too fluffy for everyone. D: I swear, it won't get too gushy.

I really have to give a shoutout to all of the people who reviewed and fav+'ed, you all make me so very happy. I'm genuinely surprised and thankful that so many people seem to like my humble offerings to this fandom, and it's support from all of you that kept me writing. So thank you so much! I'll try and have the next part to this up as soon as possible. C: 3


	3. Rings Part 2

**Rings**

A Scott Pilgrim Two-Shot By

Linda/Linables/Imprefectlin

Part II

* * *

Okay, here I go finally with the second part of "Rings"! I'm super sorry for taking as long as I did to get this up. I've been getting ready for the start of a new semester, including packing all my stuff and driving with my family from Florida back to Boston. I actually wrote most of this in the car, with my computer on my lap. 'XD But I did finally get it done, so here it is. I sincere hope you all enjoy it! C:

Note 1: I apologize to the person who didn't want the M-rated scene between Scott and Ramona, but you've been outnumbered! A lot of people really seemed to want it, so I went ahead and wrote it. So for anyone who doesn't want to read a lemon, just skip it, okay?

Note 2: When Scott, Stephen Stills and Kim reform as "Shatterband" at the very end of book 6, Scott is playing a regular, six string guitar. So, while I'm not completely sure about the canon-ness of this, I figured Stephen Stills would be playing bass now. Because of that, I wrote him as doing so. Forgive me if someone knows for sure that that's wrong!

* * *

"Okay, let's start with 'Toxic Implosion'. Scott, get ready for your solo on the eighth bar. Kim?"

"WE ARE SHATTERBAND! ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!"

Kim Pine's drumsticks crashed ferociously onto the drums in front of her, and almost immediately afterwards Stephen Stills joined in with an introductory riff on bass. Scott nodded his head in time to the music, seemingly waiting for his upcoming solo but not quite as checked in to the situation as his band mates thought. When the time came for him to play, the drums and bass stopped, and their players turned to Scott in anticipation. Catching on, Scott scrambled to place his fingers and start playing. Chords flew off of his guitar eagerly, and Scott seemed just as eager to play them. But when his eyes closed as he lost himself in the moment, he didn't catch the cocked eyebrows and quizzical glances coming from Kim and Stephen Stills.

After completing what he obviously thought was a successful solo, Scott opened his eyes and turned to face his band mates – immediately noticing that they were A) Not continuing to play and B) Staring at him in confusion.

"What?" asked Scott. "Was it that bad?"

Taking a minute to gather his thoughts, Stephen Stills then responded, "Uh...well, no, that wasn't bad, but that's not our song. That was the chorus to 'Ramona' by Guster..."

Scott blinked a couple of times.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Scott, what's up with you? You've been a little zoned out for all of practice. Are you sick or something?"

"Or going completely insane?" Kim added innocently from behind the drum set.

Scott chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Nah. I guess my head's just been filled up with a lot of stuff lately."

"Like...?" Stephen Stills asked.

Taking a second to compose himself (and figuring in the process that yes, he might as well tell his other friends now), Scott looked up at Stephen Stills and Kim, smiled and said:

"Guys, I think I'm gonna ask Ramona to marry me."

There was a silent second while Scott's friends processed the information. After that, their eyes widened at the sudden bombshell that had been dropped. Neither seemed at all upset by the idea, just perhaps blind sighted. Finally, Stephen Stills spoke up.

"Oh...why, did you knock her up or something?"

"No, no!" said Scott. "...Well, at least not that I know of. But that's not why. I just figured...I dunno, it just seemed right. I feel like it's the right time to do it. And I really, really want to."

Stephen Stills slowly nodded his head. Kim stared on in interest.

"So..." said the band leader, after taking in the information. "How do you plan on doing it?"

Scott balked. He had never really gotten as far as figuring out the perfect way to go about proposing to Ramona. So far, he had only been focusing on how he was going to get his hands on any kind of ring. Understanding Scott's silence, Stephen Stills asked, "You don't know, do you?"

Scott shook his head.

"I don't really even know how I'm gonna get the ring. I might be able to scrape together money for one, but...well, I don't even know HOW to go ring shopping. I've never bought one before."

Feeling a pang of sympathy for his naïve friend, Stephen Stills set down his instrument

and went to sit next to Scott, who had flopped down on the couch in the room. Kim soon got up and joined the boys, seeing no point in sitting behind the drum set if she wasn't going to play.

"Look, Scott, how about we help you come up with some crazy awesome way to propose to Ramona, huh?"

Scott immediately beamed, looking up at his friend with big, shining eyes.

"Would you do that?" he looked from Stephen Stills to Kim, and back.

"Yeah, we don't want you to zone out during every practice from now on until you figure it out yourself." said Kim, her tone somewhere between serious and teasing.

"And," added Stephen Stills, "My uncle owns a jewelry shop in Kitchener*, so if you work extra hard at the restaurant, maybe I could get you a discount."

"Really?" Scott exclaimed, positively radiant.

"Yeah, sure buddy." Stephen Stills said, clapping a hand onto Scott's back with considerable force and making the smaller man jerk forward a bit. "Just get your head in the game and finish practice with us, then we'll help you."

"And I know that Stephen Stills has just spoken on my part as well, but fine, I'll help you too." said Kim, not being able to hide a sympathetic smile that curved her thin lips.

* * *

It was a little over a week later when Scott found himself scrambling to fish his apartment key out of his pocket and stick it in the lock to open his door. He missed a couple of times, seeing as his eyes were partially closed and his mind was almost completely closed as Ramona pressed herself to him, arms wrapped tightly around his neck and one leg hooked around one of his. Scott finally heard the lock click, and immediately the two maneuvered into the apartment and closed the door behind them, without ever completely breaking apart.

Shoes were kicked off, jackets were dropped onto the floor in the doorway, and the couple made their way further into the apartment. A fuzzy bit of reason snaked its way through Scott's mind, and he considered for a moment whether they should go into the bedroom half of the apartment. But then he remembered that he had recently acquired a nice, roomy couch, which was at the moment much nearer. So he set their course for the couch, and Scott felt the back of his knees hit it in several short moments. He let himself fall back onto it, and Ramona gracefully dropped down on top of him, straddling his waist.

The atmosphere was thick with desire and frantic energy as Ramona leaned down and once again caught Scott's eager lips with her own. Situations like these weren't quite everyday occurrences – when they hadn't been drinking (more than one drink anyway, maybe a few hours ago) but had managed to work up the raw sexual tension between them to the point where they just couldn't keep their hands off of each other. Scott and Ramona were in no way suffering from a lackluster sex life, but situations like these were still special. Now they both made sure to savor the feeling of pure passion flowing between them, of the other's touch seeming almost like electricity coursing over their skin.

As eager as he (and she) was, Scott's hands wasted no time working their way towards the zipper on the back of Ramona's dress. Once his fingers found the zipper pull, they grasped it and pulled it down, exposing a vast stretch of skin. Ramona sat up for a moment, wiggling the dress off of her shoulders and yanking it over her head. It was tossed unceremoniously to the floor, leaving its former wearer in naught but a bra, somewhat skimpy panties, and blue thigh-high stockings. She was wearing a small necklace as well, an antique metal chain with a small charm that hung just below the small hollow where her collarbones met. It glinted in the light leaking into the dark room from the window.

Scott's frantic and heated mind paused for long enough to look up and just enjoy the sight of Ramona like this. He always thought that Ramona was exceptionally beautiful, but particularly now, when she was wearing almost nothing but lace and the shadows falling onto her skin. His gaze followed a line from her face down over her neck, over the glinting charm below her collarbones and over the curve of her breasts, to her waist, hips and thighs, which were ever-so-slightly pinched by the elastic suspending the stockings. This period of admiration lasted for a few long moments, but the pace undoubtably picked up again soon, this time with Ramona shifting to grab the hem of Scott's T-shirt and pull it up.

The shirt came off with little trouble, and it joined Ramona's clothing on the floor. By this point Scott was wishing that Ramona would go even faster, since the incessant straining of his now-tight pants was making him wish they would come off. Luckily, she seemed to be on the same page as him, considering how she smiled when her backside brushed up against the bulge at his crotch. Scott watched with eyes half-lidded as Ramona's hands wandered to the button of his jeans, undid it, and then moved on to the zipper.

She then lifted herself onto her knees to give Scott room to push his jeans off. He did so, kicking them off of his ankles and onto the floor, but instead of returning to their previous position Scott grabbed Ramona and flipped them over, silently giving thanks for the wide seat of the couch. She gave a small "Eep!" as he did so, but judging by the expression she presented to him when he looked down from above her, she was nothing but happy about it.

They shared a short moment then during which they both just looked at other, meeting each other's eyes. This was something that Ramona always found precious and amazing, the way she could look at Scott and have him look at her and feel no inhibitions between them, no hesitation, so secrets, no heavy baggage. When she had been in these kinds of situations with her exes – not all of them, she was too young for the first few, but some – she could never fully meet their eyes, having always felt the itch of incompleteness, of something not being completely right. Looking back, Ramona conceded that she had never quite loved any of them the same way she loved Scott. That's why she always savored these moments, and took care to find them whenever she could with Scott, even when they were in the heat of passion like now.

It didn't take long for things to speed up again though, and Ramona had no problem with this. After all, she had crashed through the apartment door with as much libido as Scott had, and that hadn't faded. Apparently Scott's hadn't either, since before she knew it, his hands were grasping the waistband of her underwear and pulling them down. As they were pulled down her legs, Ramona arched her back off of the couch and reached behind it, unhooking her bra and letting the straps droop down over her shoulders. Cool air brushed over her body, now bare save for the stockings. Scott never made any attempt to remove them, and Ramona felt no need to either. Scott's body, almost bare as well, was hot against hers, but it did nothing to cancel out certain effects of the previous cool air against her chest.

Scott definitely took notice of this when he brought his eyes back up to her upper half, and his lips curved into a brief, mischievous smile before he leaned down to plant a kiss on Ramona's neck, close to her pulse point. Ramona moaned softly, instinctively craning her neck and pushing her head back into the couch cushion to give him more access. He placed a few more kisses down her neck, along her collarbones, and onto her upper chest. Ramona's chest heaved under him, and Scott was ever aware of the hard nubs at the tips of her breasts pressing into his chest. He brought his attention further downwards, cupping her left breast in one of his hands and stealing a quick glance up at her face before flicking his tongue quickly against the tip of the right one. Ramona gasped and raised a hand to the back of of Scott's neck, letting it drift upwards and weave into the slightly scruffy hair that fell there. Her gasps broke into a drawn-out, keening moan of pleasure as Scott's teeth deliberately grazed her nipple, and he took that as a sign to do it again. Her nipples were taut with arousal to the point of being almost unbearable, and by now Ramona needed one thing, and one thing only: Scott. Inside her. Right now.

So her hands were quick in their attempts to pull down Scott's boxers, and he caught on to what she wanted just as quickly. Smiling, Scott helped her get his undergarment the rest of the way off, leaving them both completely naked. Ramona returned his smile as she gazed up at Scott with her best bedroom eyes, her thick lashes fluttering as she partially closed her lids. She knew she could drive Scott totally crazy like this, and that was something she would welcome right now. Her attempts weren't in vain, as at that moment the only thing Scott could see was Ramona's face, with her pouty, smiling red lips, flushed cheeks and smoldering stare.

So as an answer to her wordless request, Scott gave one last grin before positioning himself at the crux of her legs and pushing into her. Ramona tossed her head back into the couch cushion below her, giving a pleasured moan that trailed off in a crescendo. Scott braced himself above her, balancing on one arm and grasping Ramona's shoulder with the hand of the other, and he began to move. His eyes slipped closed as he pulled halfway out, then thrust back in, then back out, back in...waves of pleasure began coursing through him as he worked them into a rhythm. And judging by the sounds that Ramona was making beneath him, she was experiencing the same thing.

Further confirmation came from Ramona reaching up to wrap her arms around Scott, one slipping around his waist and the other settling at his opposite shoulder blade. She held him down firmly, her back almost instinctively arching up off of the couch to press her body harder against his. Scott vocalized his approval and leaned down against Ramona, burying his face in the crook of her neck. A shred of coherent thought swept through his mind, letting him register the slight, sweet smell on her, something like apples and vanilla tea.

Ramona gasped and moaned, her nails digging into Scott's back as his thrusts sped up, and she was becoming fully aware that she was getting close. Scott was right alongside her, panting as he lifted his head up to meet Ramona's eyes for a second before leaning down and capturing her mouth with his. Her mouth opened, as did his against it, and Scott shivered as he felt Ramona's soft tongue brush against his.

It built quickly, with neither party doing anything to suppress it, and soon Ramona was sure she was at her breaking point. One hard thrust was the last thing she needed, and she pulled away from Scott's mouth to cry out something that sounded like a mixture of his name and an impassioned gasp. She was warm and tight and unbearably heavenly around him, and hearing and feeling Ramona's peak was enough to propel Scott to his own. He went rigid against her as he released, breathing heavily against her shoulder and collapsing atop and beside her thereafter. Upon regaining his breath, Scott pulled out and turned onto his side next to Ramona. She did the same, facing him, and they wrapped themselves in the other's arms.

They lay like that for some time, enjoying the calm sense of fulfillment that was in such contrast to the frenetic heat that they had just felt. Scott closed his eyes for a while, not intending to sleep but just to relax and enjoy the feel of Ramona's body pressed softly against his. The woman leaned in to give him a few chaste kisses, idly moving from his lips to his cheek and across it. Moments like these were also ones to be savored, as quite often the couple just didn't have the time for them.

As the minutes passed, Scott's mind became occupied with a bit of advice that Stephen Stills had given him a week ago, when they'd talked about Scott proposing.

_'Don't stress about it, just do it when the time feels right.'_

Scott blinked, processing the information for a second time. When the time felt right...Scott supposed a time like that would be when he and Ramona were together, at peace, and definitely feeling in love. The next thought that crossed his mind then was: _'How about now?'_

It had been a while since he and Ramona had been able to just enjoy each other like this, close both physically and emotionally. To be honest, it felt perfect, and Scott couldn't imagine a much better time. So he quietly took a deep breath, mustering up his courage, and asked the question that would start off the plan he and his bandmates had devised for him to pop the question.

"Ramona," he said. "Do you want some tea?"

Ramona blinked a couple of times, a little surprised by the question. Scott hadn't ever asked her at a time like this if she wanted tea, but now that she thought about it, she decided that she wouldn't mind some.

"Uh...well okay. Thank you."

Glad that Ramona had said yes, Scott smiled and untangled himself from her, sitting up on the couch. He got up, pulled his boxers on, and walked to the other side of the large central room of his apartment, to the section that served as his kitchen. Ever since Ramona had moved in with him, Scott's cabinet was always stocked with at least five different kinds of tea. Scott reached up to grab Orange Blossom, which was the flavor that he'd seen Ramona drinking the most lately. He heated up a cup of water in the microwave and put the tea bag in, then went to the cupboard to fetch a little plate and the sugar bowl. His parents had given these to him when they'd bought him this apartment, and now Scott was damn glad that they had. Now...time for the nerve-wracking part. Taking another deep breath and steadying himself, Scott opened his kitchen junk drawer and began digging around in it. His fingers soon closed around a small velvet-covered box that had been hidden at the back of the drawer. This was the place that Scott figured Ramona was the least likely to look in, and therefore the safest.

He looked up at Ramona, still on the couch on the opposite side of the room, to make sure she wasn't looking – and opened the box, taking the ring out and stuffing it in the sugar bowl, making sure it was hidden fairly deep within the sugar. Then with slightly shaky hands, Scott picked up the teacup and saucer, and the sugar bowl (with the spoon in it). He walked over to the couch and handed Ramona the cup and saucer, smiling at her a little bit nervously.

"Here," he said as she took it. "It doesn't have any sugar in it yet, I brought this so you could put in the right amount yourself."

Gulping quietly, Scott passed the sugar bowl to Ramona. She smiled and thanked him, then took a spoonful of sugar and mixed it into her tea. Scott hadn't fully expected her to find the ring on the first try, so he wasn't surprised when she put the sugar bowl on the floor by the couch and began stirring her tea. Not surprised, but more nervous than ever now as he said slowly, "Uh, Ramona...I think...I think you should probably dig a little bit deeper into the sugar bowl." Scott sat down next to Ramona on the couch, and willed himself to look her in the eyes.

Ramona raised an eyebrow, a little baffled by Scott's suggestion. She had enough sugar, so she didn't need any more. But Scott was looking at her with a serious expression – a very cute serious expression – so she figured that she might as well do as he asked. So Ramona reached down to grab the sugar bowl again, and starting digging around in it with the spoon. Scott's heart was beating harder than he could remember it ever beating.

They both heard a very distinct "clack" as the metal of the spoon collided with the metal of the ring. Even more confused now, Ramona looked up at Scott with a curious expression. He just stared at her with the same sweet, nervous face, nodding his head slightly as if to tell her to find out what had made the sound. So Ramona pushed the spoon into the sugar, fishing out the object with it and shaking it to get rid of the excess sugar. The moment her eyes fell onto the shining metal band, decorated with a small but beautiful stone, they widened considerably. Ramona could hardly breathe as she looked up at Scott with a wondrous expression on her face, asking him silently if this was what she thought it was.

Knowing that this was the moment that he could never get back, Scott gathered up the entirety of his courage.

"Ramona..." he started, before realizing that he should probably get into that one-knee position for this. He'd never actually seen this done, but he was pretty sure of that. So, idly wondering if it mattered which knee was on the ground, Scott scrambled off of the couch and dropped down into the classic pose. Ramona's hand was slowly rising up to cover her mouth in shock, but she couldn't hide the happiness that was showing in her eyes.

Now in position, Scott started again.

"R-ramona...I, uh, I hope you know that...I love you, I really, really love you...and I realized a while ago that I can't picture you ever not being there...so I thought maybe...if you wanted..." He stopped, took a breath, and said, "Ramona Flowers, will you marry me?"

Ramona had no hope of hiding her emotions now; all she could do was let the words sink in as her mouth began to form a smile and drops of water began to collect in the corners of her eyes. She looked at Scott, whose face was a cross between total nervousness and avid hope. She honestly hadn't expected this...but now that it had happened, now that Scott was standing there on one knee and she had a ring in her hand, she found that everything about the situation felt perfect. Maybe _this_ was what she had been waiting for. Maybe the thought of not going further with Scott was what had been getting her down.

Ramona wasn't able to contain a happy sob that came out as she faced Scott and nodded her head. A huge, hopeful smile instantly began to form on his face, and he nodded as well, whispering, "Yes?"

"Yes!" said Ramona, laughing affectionately. "Oh my god, Scott Pilgrim, yes I will marry you."

Ramona placed the ring onto her finger, admiring it for a scant second before practically jumping on Scott and wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug. Scott felt a million things – he felt amazed, he felt relieved, he felt overjoyed, he felt invincible. But every single emotion he felt at that moment was connected to woman in his arms – and that was exactly the way he liked it.

* * *

The door of The Second Cup creaked as Ramona Flowers entered the coffee shop, a small but genuine smile decorating her face. Her rollerblades were still on, and she skated to the counter, knowing that Stacey was on and that she wouldn't mind. The younger Pilgrim sibling, who was crouched behind the counter at the time, heard the distinctive sound of wheels hitting the linoleum floor and she smiled as she stood up to greet Ramona.

"Hey, Ramona!" she said, coming up to the register. Immediately noticing Ramona change in mood, Stacey added, "You're looking happy!"

Ramona chuckled as she braked in front of the counter. "You think so?" she asked slyly, setting her bag down in front of her.

"Yeah," said Stacey. "Something in you has definitely done a 180º in the right direction. What's up?"

Ramona just grinned coyly for a while, pretending to glance at the menu behind Stacey.

"Wellll?" asked Stacey, catching on to Ramona's game.

Still not looking at Stacey, Ramona said, "Hmm. I think I'll have a spiced chai latte today."

Stacey sighed and rolled her eyes, though mostly for show, and turned to go make Ramona's drink. Upon finishing, she walked back to the counter and set it down in front of the other girl. Smiling wider, Ramona took the cup with her left hand, lifting it off of the counter and making sure that the position of her fingers allowed Stacey to see the ring. She took a sip, meeting Stacey's eyes as she did so. Slowly, the barista's face took on an expression of happy shock.

"He did it!" she whispered under her breath.

"Huh?" Ramona asked.

"Oh, nothing. But oh my God! Did my brother...did he pop the question?"

Her lips curving upwards behind the coffee cup, Ramona gave a nod.

Stacey's face lit up, and she ran out from behind the counter to hug Ramona tightly. She laughed, her roller blades sliding back and forth on the floor as she returned Stacey's hug.

"Congrats," said Stacey as she pulled back. "I kinda can't believe it actually happened, but I'm so happy for you. And for Scott, of course. It's about time he asked you, really."

Ramona blushed a bit, and giggled rather uncharacteristically. "Thanks," she said. "You can be a bridesmaid, if you want."

"I'd love to!" said Stacey, walking back behind the counter. "Just tell me when."

Ramona nodded, and took another sip of her coffee. Then, remembering that she hadn't paid yet, she started to open her bag to dig around for her wallet. Seeing this, Stacey quickly said, "Oh, don't worry about. That one's on the house. Call it an engagement present."

Ramona laughed, and thanked Stacey before saying goodbye and turning to skate out of the shop.

After watching Ramona go, Stacey rushed to pull her phone out of her pocket. She opened it up, and quickly typed a message for Wallace:

"_Wallace – just saw ramona, she had a ring! my brother actually grew a pair and did it. good job, partner in crime! lets all meet for drinks tonight to celebrate. – stacey_"

Smiling, Stacey hit send. Wonders did happen.

* * *

* Kitchener: This is a city about 75km southwest of Toronto. There's no real basis for my choice, I kinda just picked a city that was fairly near Toronto at random. ^u^; At least I did my research, right?


End file.
